Your cell phone mounting solution

Hi all,

Living in the great progressive state of Washington, they (the loving, caring, nosey ass government) were thoughtful enough to make holding a cell phone while in the car (unless parked) illegal. You can still operate one to make calls, listen to podcasts etc. while driving - you just can't hold it in your hand. The state patrol is kind enough to be handing out warnings, but that will end soon enough. Since it is a primary infraction, they don't have to have any other reason to pull you over. You pick the phone up (and they see you of course) and you get pulled over.

As a result (being the law abiding citizen that I am and I'm sure you all are), I need some kind of mount to put my cell phone into in order to make me legal. Investigations on Amazon revealed a truly dizzying array of mounting solutions available. Rather than buying mount after mount to try them only to be disappointed, I'd like you hear your experience and what you like best. Pictures would be great as well if you have them.

The vent mounts seem promising for the center vents. There are a variety of adhesive mounts that could potentially be stuck to the dash. I'm less enthusiastic with those as I have a full complement of Turbo gauges that I don't wish to obstruct. Since it is a manual car (as all good 242s happen to be) I cant put anything in the way of the shifter. I've toyed with the idea of attempting to modify my coin tray to incorporate a mount. I saw one that the mounting fits into a CD player slot. That would seem to be pretty easy to cut it into the coin tray and glue it in for a more permanent solution. A little work and it might actually look nice as well.

What has been your solution?

Well that's a lot of complaining for a law that might prevent a teenager snapchatting from t-boning you and putting your cranial fluids on the passenger seat. Or your wife's. Or your kids.

If your dash has a speaker grille in the middle, get a spare and put four bolts through it to a windshield mount you removed the suction cup from. I did it on my mother's s60, works fine, no rattling, falling off, or stupid adhesive.

We have a law in Austria prohibiting cell phone usage while driving for like 15+ years and I think it makes perfect sense due to (but not only) the above reasons.

Anyway, I use this in my 940, but have used it in the 240 too: https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Magnet...id=1509009763&sr=8-3&keywords=anker+car+mount
It's cheap and does the job. I put the magnet between my case and phone (iPhone 6). In the 940 the phone sits flush on top of the heater control, so it doesn't even wiggle a bit. There are two magnets with adhesive tape applied to them that come with it.

Just leave it in your pocket until you get there. You can always call someone back. I remember way back in the 90's not everyone had a cell phone and shucks if you called someone and they didn't answer it meant they weren't home and you just had to try back later.

VB242 said:

Just leave it in your pocket until you get there. You can always call someone back. I remember way back in the 90's not everyone had a cell phone and shucks if you called someone and they didn't answer it meant they weren't home and you just had to try back later.

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I agree somewhat with that, but I mostly use my phone in the car to listen to music over bluetooth or as navigation, so I sometimes need to be able to see it. That's the main reason I have this kind of thing in the car. But I can also make phone calls over the radio and I don't even need to touch the phone. Yay for technology!

My iphone with its case is just big enough to wedge into the space on top of the steering column and the dash top and it's in the perfect spot for navigation. Can't charge it though when it's there

LOL guys, the complaining was meant to be more tongue in cheek - but came off more as whining i guess......

FezMonki said:

Well that's a lot of complaining for a law that might prevent a teenager snapchatting from t-boning you and putting your cranial fluids on the passenger seat. Or your wife's. Or your kids.

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I can appreciate that point of view. I have three kids myself. My oldest (17) is banned from using his phone on the road at all. He is also not allowed to have other kids in the car as well. Yes, that is terribly hypocritical of me. As I have 30 years experience driving I'm of the opinion that I can do things safely that he cannot with 6mo experience.

FezMonki said:

If your dash has a speaker grille in the middle, get a spare and put four bolts through it to a windshield mount you removed the suction cup from. I did it on my mother's s60, works fine, no rattling, falling off, or stupid adhesive.

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The center grille area is occupied by my Garmin GPS unit. Its also a bit far to reach. I don't fiddle with the GPS generally speaking while driving as it is such a reach.

Fa182 said:

Anyway, I use this in my 940, but have used it in the 240 too: https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Magnet...id=1509009763&sr=8-3&keywords=anker+car+mount
It's cheap and does the job. I put the magnet between my case and phone (iPhone 6). In the 940 the phone sits flush on top of the heater control, so it doesn't even wiggle a bit. There are two magnets with adhesive tape applied to them that come with it.

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Thanks Fa182, I'll look at those. I've seen the magnet stuff and it looks interesting. I'm curious if it will interfere with my wireless charging pad.

VB242 said:

Just leave it in your pocket until you get there. You can always call someone back. I remember way back in the 90's not everyone had a cell phone and shucks if you called someone and they didn't answer it meant they weren't home and you just had to try back later.

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Being a teenager in the 80's I can clearly recall the days pre cell phone and internet. I did 11 years in the Navy with the only link home being letters (on paper no less!!) and a phone call from each port. I spent $300 for a 90 minute phone call from Hong Kong in 1991 during our Desert Storm deployment. These days, they just Skype call from their laptop onboard the ship while at sea. I even know a guy who had his wife bring a webcam into the birthing suite for the birth of their daughter while he was on a big flat screen. This all happened while his aircraft carrier was launching F/A-18's on bombing missions into Iraq and Afghanistan. My how times have changed.

Alas, that disconnected world is not the world we live in these days and wouldn't meet the requirements of my job or expectations of my employer. I actually participate in quite a few conference calls while on the road. I totally support (and admire to a certain extent) your decision to hang up and simply drive - its just not an option for me.

esmth said:

My iphone with its case is just big enough to wedge into the space on top of the steering column and the dash top and it's in the perfect spot for navigation. Can't charge it though when it's there

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That would work for navigation - but that is what I've got the Garmin for. Trying to reach through the steering wheel would be challenging to say the least.

For reference, I don't run a radio in the car. I use a set of Bose ear buds with the phone for media. Since I have a 134 mile round trip commute, it gets pretty boring talking to myself after a while. I listen to audio books, podcasts and music via Pandora Plus. And yes (in case you were curious) I can hear the traffic around me just fine. Since I spend so much time commuting, I need a solution that allows simple access to the phone touchscreen while still allowing the phone to be charged. Prior to this, I just set it on the seat next to me. I could just buy a newer car or spend a grand on a nice stereo that has good Bluetooth integration and noise cancellation, but I'd prefer to keep it to just my phone on some sort of stand that is affixed to the vehicle in some way and close at hand. A nice aftermarket stereo in an old 242 would just be a theft magnet on the variety of construction sites I visit on any given month.

As technology changes, I suspect that this will become a self solving problem. However its likely still a way out for that to happen. The next new car I buy will be one that I can get in and say 'take me to work' with me not being legally required to do anything with the car. I'll just lean the seat back and catch up on some sleep or review a set of drawings. Till then I'll keep driving my 83 242.

I use this Scosche model in my 245.
http://www.scosche.com/magic-mount-cell-phone-holder-tablet-mount

Whittled a piece of wood that fits into the coin tray right above the cigarette lighter to make a level area for the mount. Used 3M double sided tape to secure the wood piece into the coin tray then stuck the Scosche mount on top. The mount comes with several size metal pieces that attach to the back of your phone or phone cover. The magnet is on the mount instead of the phone. Bought a cigarette lighter to USB adapter and 4" or 6" lightning cable, can't remember which, and now I can mount my phone for bluetooth radio, GPS and have it charging the whole time. I put the metal piece higher on the back of my phone so I can keep my phone from blocking the center A/C vent that is located there. I'll post pics tomorrow.

lol leave it in your pocket and lectures about safety. that's what you get for asking tb.

I use vent mounts in our 3 cars. no suction cups, no adhesives, no bull****. my phone had an optional back that was $20 that added wireless charging- not fumbling with wires getting in and out makes it totally worth it, just buy a compatible mount.

Lol worried about safety, uses Bose ear buds.
Lol using a Garmin for GPS instead of the smartphone with always up to date traffic and maps.

Get a mount with a magnet. Everything else sucks.

doucheNozzle said:

Lol worried about safety, uses Bose ear buds.
Lol using a Garmin for GPS instead of the smartphone with always up to date traffic and maps.

Get a mount with a magnet. Everything else sucks.

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Basically. I use a magnetic one that attaches to the dash using 3M double sided tape. I guess I can get a pic here soon.

quillc said:

I've seen the magnet stuff and it looks interesting. I'm curious if it will interfere with my wireless charging pad.

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The metal plate which goes into your phone case, like in the Anker one linked, will interfere with inductive charging.

thismachine13 said:

Whittled a piece of wood that fits into the coin tray right above the cigarette lighter to make a level area for the mount. Used 3M double sided tape to secure the wood piece into the coin tray then stuck the Scosche mount on top.

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Khrrck said:

The metal plate which goes into your phone case, like in the Anker one linked, will interfere with inductive charging.

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That sounds similar to what I was thinking, but as Khrrck points out I suspect that the magnet mount will interfere with the wireless charger. It does put the phone right about where I want it though. It is interesting though that they make (as I note below) wireless charging mounts - and some of them have magnets. Maybe its just the placement of the extra magnet or something.

Harlard said:

Basically. I use a magnetic one that attaches to the dash using 3M double sided tape. I guess I can get a pic here soon.

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Harland, where on the dash?

doucheNozzle said:

Lol worried about safety, uses Bose ear buds.
Lol using a Garmin for GPS instead of the smartphone with always up to date traffic and maps. Get a mount with a magnet. Everything else sucks.

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Never said I was worried about safety, others commented on that. I'm more worried about getting a $200 ticket.

Don't knock the ear buds till you try them. I've seen more than one person daily with the stereo blaring. I suspect that they hear a lot less than I do. I laugh every time I'm in traffic with my window down and clearly hear the phone call blaring out of the speakers of the car next to me - all while listening to a podcast or Offspring on Pandora .

The Garmin works great frankly and I update the maps every year for free. Its about as bulletproof as you can get for a GPS unit (Garmin Nuvi 265W), doesn't give two sh*ts about what temperature it is in the car and works regardless of whether I have cell signal or not. Given the number of trips I do up into the Olympic mountains and Cascades every year with the Scouts, Its much more reliable than my phone. Lastly, I don't know about your phone, but the maps app tends to use a lot of power.

Kenunot said:

lol leave it in your pocket and lectures about safety. that's what you get for asking tb. I use vent mounts in our 3 cars. no suction cups, no adhesives, no bull****. my phone had an optional back that was $20 that added wireless charging- not fumbling with wires getting in and out makes it totally worth it, just buy a compatible mount.

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Hey, I asked for general opinions and what works for them. If 'shut up and drive' works for them, I got what I asked for (their opinion). The fact that I then discount that opinion is outside the realm of this discussion.

That said, what wireless charging mount did you buy? A quick search on everyone's favorite Seattle online retailer netted this as an example. I use a desktop wireless charger at work and home and for some reason hadn't considered that they would also be available as a car mounted charger. Not sure just why I didn't think about looking for one, but suggestions like yours are the exact reason that I started this thread rather than just buying the first thing that looked promising. Thanks!

It seems like the vent version clipped into the center vents is the most popular by far, but I'm still interested in hearing about what you are doing in your car.

I put a neo magnet on the back side of a blank gauge panel with some shoe goo in my 245, it’s plenty strong enough to grab the metal plate that came with the Anker setup posted above.

The 242 uses the above anker mount in a vent because I don’t want to cover any of the gauges.

I use my phone for a GPS speedo in the 242 because I still haven’t sorted out the speedo in my swap. Don’t over think it, there’s plenty of off he shelf options that will do the job just fine.

Blah. It's an Oregon law now too... Toss your phone into your door pocket(if you still have one) or glove box and drive. If I am going to listen to music or charge my phone, I get it set up before I take off. If it needs adjustment; I wait until I get to a red light and then do so quickly. All for free and still legal.

quillc said:

Hey, I asked for general opinions and what works for them. If 'shut up and drive' works for them, I got what I asked for (their opinion). The fact that I then discount that opinion is outside the realm of this discussion.

That said, what wireless charging mount did you buy? A quick search on everyone's favorite Seattle online retailer netted this as an example. I use a desktop wireless charger at work and home and for some reason hadn't considered that they would also be available as a car mounted charger. Not sure just why I didn't think about looking for one, but suggestions like yours are the exact reason that I started this thread rather than just buying the first thing that looked promising. Thanks!

It seems like the vent version clipped into the center vents is the most popular by far, but I'm still interested in hearing about what you are doing in your car.

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If asked, tb would solve the opiate crisis by "just saying no" and teen pregnancy with celibacy vows

Anyway, I am partial to vent mounts just for ease of use and ease of swapping between cars. I don't have patience with fiddly things. We actually have a couple of perfectly usable vent mounts floating around from Five-Below (don't know if you have those on your coast, they're a sort of dollar store where everything is $1 - $5).

The one I bought with wireless charging is identical to this https://smile.amazon.com/Wireless-C...7&keywords=vent+phone+holder+wireless+charger it seems to be a generic chinesium design that is sold under several brand names. Still holding up after over a year use where it gets swapped from car to car with me several times a week. The LED indicator is too bright for my tastes at night, but all of them have some sort of overly bright LED.

The wireless charging really is worth it just because all car charger plugs eventually wear and fail to make good contact leaving you with a dead battery when you thought it was charged. Good luck!

My Galaxy sits on the pen tray. It sits at an angle against the trim under the vents. Works fine when the phone isn't in my pocket.

I use a scoshe mag mount in the 122, it’s strong enough to hold my tablet while driving very aggressively. And it’s nice to be able to grab the phone or tablet without much fuss.

57plymouth said:

My Galaxy sits on the pen tray. It sits at an angle against the trim under the vents. Works fine when the phone isn't in my pocket.

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Until you run the heat with the center vent on and overheat your phone while driving to a job interview that you?re already running late to.